


Morbid Diathesis

by simplygrimly



Category: Original Work
Genre: 15th century vampires, Angst, F/F, F/M, Italian Renaissance, Lesbian Vampires, M/M, Romance, Vampires, historical fiction - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:22:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29599617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simplygrimly/pseuds/simplygrimly
Summary: 700 years of life.300 years leading her coven.200 years being hunted.Just as Katherine thinks her world is beginning to fall into place, she meets a human that threatens to change everything - that begins to change her.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5





	1. Safety In Darkness

Katherine had never quite had the patience or the tolerance for the social obligations that came with her age and status. At nearly 700 years old, she was one of the oldest known vampires to have survived the last two centuries of vampire hunters and torch bearing mobs. She looked over the room, took in the vampires milling about with their pets lingering meekly at their sides, saw the same scene she had seen twice a week for the last century, and she breathed a heavy sigh. Now, vampires not only lived in the darkness but they clung to the shadows. A sort of secret society had evolved from the need to protect themselves, and the only humans allowed to see them in more than glimpses were those who had been taken in as pets, willing victims who traded their freedom for the mysterious eroticism of being prey for the court of vampires.

The light of thousands of candles filled the massive room, bathing her guests in flickering orange and yellow hues and casting long shadows that seemed appropriately sinister. Katherine wondered how the scene would look to a human who stumbled upon them - not a pet, but one of the humans that walked the streets of the city every day with no idea that vampires and werewolves and fae lived on the fringes of their world. She would never know what the world looked like through human eyes, what she would see without her vision sharpened and the ability to see more than just the surface of the world around her. But she was sure that a human would see nothing more than a room full of monsters and prey, indulging their depravity in the safety of darkness. 

She sensed another vampire approaching her, smelled the pet trailing at the hem of her skirts, but she kept her focus on the crowd. She had learned long ago that their little parties would quickly devolve into an uncivilized mess if allowed, there were always vampires that leaned too far into their predatory nature and impulsively bled their snacks dry. Despite their willing status as pets, such a scene never failed to cause panic among the humans, setting off an instinctive chain reaction of primal impulses. It was a mess that Katherine had been forced to clean up too many times since stepping into her position at court, one that she didn’t have the energy to manage that night. 

Her eyes narrowed and her vision sharpened further as Katherine scanned the room, her attention skipping from one vampire to the next, searching those that she knew were most likely to abandon the decorum she demanded at her events. She sensed a shift in the air, a spike in someone’s animal instincts and Katherine followed the changing energy to a single vampire. She flexed the powers that she had gained over her centuries of life and the voice beside her drowned out as she honed in on the crowd to better sense the situation unfolding in front of her. 

She recognized him immediately. Vincenzo de la Mora; as the only other pure vampire in the coven, he had been around long enough to have acquired a fair amount of wealth paired with a reputation for violence and cruelty, especially towards the humans who served him. Katherine didn’t recognize the pet that he had with him, but she somehow seemed different from his usual prey. The brunette was tiny with strikingly bright eyes (so bright that Katherine questioned if she was actually fae for a moment), and she didn’t seem to fawn on him with spineless, lovestruck enthusiasm as his usual pets did. She stayed within arm’s reach but seemed reluctant to allow him to touch her, and, unlike the other humans sprinkled into the crowd, she didn’t keep her eyes glued to the floor. Instead, she watched everyone around her, took in her surroundings with calculating eyes. She kept her smile demure and respectful, but stepped away from his hand on her waist and only gave him half of her attention unless he demanded more of her. She wore her hair down in loose curls, pulled over her shoulders so that it kept her neck and most of her chest covered, a stark contrast to the room full of pets who bared every inch of flesh they could in open offering for the vampires around them. She spoke to almost no one, didn’t entertain other vampires that tried to engage her in conversation, she seemed immune to the charms of those that usually had humans melted into puddles of need within minutes of setting their sights on the prey. She didn’t look like prey at all, and yet she was there, in service to Vincenzo. 

He took the human by the wrist and yanked her to him, crashing her tiny frame into his chest and wrapping his fingers around her throat to pull her up to her tiptoes. Katherine watched with disgust as Vincenzo kissed the poor girl, lulling her into a false state of security before bared his fangs and sank them through her lower lip to feed on her, smiling slightly at her sharp cry of pain and shock. She watched carefully, wary of the danger that the human would be in if she fought him, but the pet simply forced herself to still under his fangs, whimpering her protests. Even in the glow of the candle lit room, it was easy to see the woman grow pale and weak as he fed, clearly losing more blood than was optimal for someone so small. But Vincenzo paid no mind, he fed until he was bored of her and then simply let go, letting the petite woman drop to the ground in an undignified heap of silk skirts and long, brown hair.

He rolled his eyes and said something to the vampire at his side, a pretty man whose boyish features didn’t match his century of life. They laughed as they watched her slowly gather herself, struggling to get up from the floor as her body tried to compensate for the severe loss of blood. Katherine took a step forward as Vincenzo gave her a hard nudge with the pointed toe of his boot, pushing her back to the floor with a sharp yelp of pain. Their laughter was easy for Katherine to distinguish, but all she could focus on was the small woman’s fluttering heartbeat and gasping breaths. After a moment Vincenzo reached down and grabbed her by the upper arm, dragging her to her feet in a harsh motion that no doubt was painful for the human. Katherine was quickly growing tired of the display of needless cruelty, her patience for his behavior growing thinner by the moment.

But the pet simply laid her hand on Vincenzo’s arm and muttered an apology heavy with flattery, easily appealing to Vincenzo’s vanity so he softened his grip on her arm. Katherine watched as the pet slipped a handkerchief from his coat without him noticing and bowed her head at him before slipping into the crowd and disappearing from view. Vincenzo made no move to follow her, he didn’t even bother to watch her walk away, already laughing and reaching for another pet to torment until his preferred victim returned.

She wasn’t sure why she was so fascinated with the little human woman, why her scent lingered in her mind or why her bright blue eyes seemed to be at the edges of her vision everywhere she looked. But Katherine couldn’t help but keep scanning the room, waiting for her to return. She could still vaguely sense the pet’s heartbeat, so she knew that the woman hadn’t bled out in a hallway somewhere, but she stayed hidden away, so unlike the other pets that Katherine was constantly surrounded by. Even Vincenzo’s wicked behavior didn’t deter the humans from fawning over him, from hanging on him and constantly offering themselves to him for whatever he desired of them. Most of the pets in the room would give their lives if it meant their last breaths were in a vampire’s arms, their last heartbeat under a vampire’s fangs. But this one didn’t feel like the others, she lacked the sour scent of desperation that clung to most of the pets that attended court events.

It wasn’t long before Katherine’s boredom and restlessness were simply too much to ignore. She knew that she belonged at the front of that room, watching over the coven as was expected of a pure vampire of her age and status. But she felt like little more than a decoration, a trophy to be kept polished and shining, on display for all to see. She grew weary of the curtsies and bows as they passed by, of the pets staring at her in admiration and desire from the edges of the room, of constantly being asked for her opinion and advice. She was especially tired of the way the pets lifted their chins and bared their throats to her at little more than a glance in their direction, at how the women lingered in their curtsies, dipped so low their knees almost touched the ground, and how the human men held her hand just a moment too long when they kissed her fingers. She longed for the night to be over, for the vampires to either head home before the sun or to retreat to the safety of one of the many rooms her manor had available to them.

The nagging question of where Vincenzo’s pet had gone lingered in the front of her mind. She wasn’t sure if it was concern or curiosity, but Katherine decided it was as good a reason as any to slip away from the displays of debauchery and decadence, to find a moment of peace if nothing else. She concentrated her senses and followed the faint feel of the woman’s heartbeat outside and into the garden, trailed the thin scent of blood wafting through the night. The night air was cool and refreshing, a chilled breeze carrying the familiar energy of the human’s vitality through the darkness. Katherine closed her eyes and took a deep breath, focusing on the hint of copper and something else on the wind...she thought for a moment, let the human’s energy work it’s way into her senses so that she could better trace the wounded pet.

She walked silently through the garden, moving with the stealth of a predator hunting a helpless animal. It was easy to track the woman by the blood which marked the winding path she had followed into the depths of the garden. Katherine frowned at the pools of blood that grew larger as she came nearer to the human, streaked by her footsteps as she clearly stumbled along the garden paths. If she couldn’t hear the woman’s heartbeat echoing in the night, Katherine would be sure that so much blood lost would have been a sure sign of her death. But still the pet’s heart beat in an erratic flurry, growing faint for a moment before returning to full strength as if stubbornly refusing to quit beating despite the wound Vincenzo had used to drink her almost dry.

It wasn’t long before Katherine could hear the sounds of the woman sobbing, her breathing heavy and labored with anxiety and pain. It was clear that Vincenzo had done nothing to ease her discomfort, to use even a sliver of his powers to lessen the pain that he would cause her. Katherine spotted her on one of the more isolated garden paths, kneeling on the ground as she tried to stop the bleeding with the thin linen handkerchief that she had slipped from his coat pocket when he had dismissed her. The smell of blood carried easily on the night breeze, unrelentingly strong as the square of cloth did nothing to stop the flow of blood from the fresh bite. 

Vincenzo’s carelessness was infuriating, but Katherine bit back the urge to drag him outside and tear a hole in his throat as she quietly made her way to the frightened human cowering in her garden. The woman looked up at her in the dark, eyes narrowed as she struggled to see which vampire had followed her into the garden. 

“Stand up please, let me have a look at you.” 

The human scrambled to her feet at the sound of Katherine’s voice, no doubt recognizing her from the formal welcome that opened each of the coven’s events. She nearly tripped on her skirts in her haste and Katherine quickly reached for her, easily catching the woman by the arm and helping her upright as she sorted the mass of petticoats and heavy fabrics that made up her simple but tasteful gown. She gently touched a hand to Katherine’s arm and offered a small smile with a whispered thanks as she stood upright. 

Katherine reached up and lifted the pet’s chin with the tips of her fingers, tilting her head from side to side slowly as she inspected the gaping wound to her mouth. Blood still oozed from the wound, running down the woman’s chin in long red rivulets that filled the air with the scent of copper and honey. Her eyes darkened to a burnt crimson as the smell washed over her senses, tempting her to take advantage of the open wound and feed on the pet herself. She could see why Vincenzo kept the human, her scent was uniquely light and sweet, as if her blood had been sweetened to make her almost irresistible to any being with heightened senses. 

“He didn’t take a moment to seal the wound?” 

The pet simply shook her head, watching Katherine’s expression carefully. “No Your Grace.”

“No need for that,” Katherine said quietly as she looked closer. “You may call me your lady.”

The pet lowered her eyes for a moment, substituting the customary dip of her head as Katherine held her chin up. “Yes my lady,” she said quietly, her heart fluttering enough that they both felt it. 

Her blood pooled in Katherine’s palm for a moment before snaking down her wrist in long, dark lines. She ran her thumb over the human’s lip, carefully feeling the jagged strips that Vincenzo’s fangs had torn through her mouth. She nodded and looked into the frail human’s bright blue eyes, trying to pinpoint why she was so enthralled by the pet. 

“Would you be opposed to me sealing it for you? You can return to Vincenzo if you wish to ask him instead. But I insist that something be done about this, I won’t have you bleeding to death in the garden.”

The human blushed, her skin turning almost as red as the blood dripping down her chin as she searched Katherine’s eyes. It was clear that she knew who Katherine was, that this pet had paid close attention to the social dynamics of the parties she was taken to and knew that Katherine could do anything she wished without fear of retribution. She swallowed and closed her eyes for a moment, clearly thinking through the ‘proper’ answer. 

“Whatever you wish, Mistress.” Her voice was soft but strong, unwavering even in the face of a vampire that could bleed her dry without a second thought. 

Katherine raised a brow at her but her mouth twitched in a half smile. “It’s your choice, I won’t do anything you don’t want, little human.” 

The human’s cheeks flushed deeper as she pursed her lips in annoyance. “I don’t appreciate being belittled by Your Grace. And we both know who has the power here so I’d rather you simply do as you please, my lady.” 

Her tone was surprising, far braver than Katherine would have expected. It had been centuries since a human had spoken to her so boldly, but she was pleased with the way the woman set her jaw and stared at her, almost defiant in her refusal to break eye contact. 

Katherine nodded and quickly moved her hand to grip the human’s jaw tightly enough that a small whimper of fear slipped from her lips. She caressed the pet’s jawline with her thumb for a moment, using a thread of her power to ease the woman’s tension, and wrapped her other arm around her slender waist to pull the human’s body to hers. Katherine held her securely, careful not to let her move as she lowered her mouth to the still bleeding wound. It was impossible not to note how soft the human was, how her frail body curved into her powerful, firm frame and seemed to melt into her. She relaxed as Katherine coaxed her into a state of relaxation, using her well practiced power to mesmerize the woman and fill her with a tingling warmth that made every touch feel as special as that of a lover. 

The pet whimpered almost silently as Katherine’s lips closed over the gashes in her skin, but the sound was distinctly different from what she had heard earlier. There was no fear in the pet’s voice, only a moment of overwhelming bliss as she flooded the human’s senses to take away the pain of her wound. Katherine splayed her fingers over her lower back and softened her grip on her jaw, tilting the human’s head back further so that she could better access the wound. She closed her eyes and let pleasure radiate through the human’s body as she drank the blood that pooled between their mouths, holding her a fraction tighter as the woman reached up to cling to her upper arms. Katherine knew the effect she had on humans, knew how their knees went weak and the pain vanished as she fed, it was the only benefit that came with being a monster of her age. She typically used it to make feedings easier, but something in the way this particular human held on to her, used her to keep herself on her feet rather than allowing Katherine to take her weight, piqued Katherine’s interest and made her want to give the woman more. She forced down the surge of possessiveness that clouded her thoughts and ran her fingertips down the woman’s throat and over her chest, brushing over the square line of her bodice with a featherlight touch that made the woman moan softly into her mouth.

Her blood tasted of candied chestnuts, free of the tangy bitterness that she tasted in most humans, and Katherine struggled to fight the urge to continue to feed on the wound rather than seal it as she had offered. The few sips of blood that she had taken while cleaning the wound were tantalizing, making Katherine’s head feel light and airy with the heady flavor. The pet was intoxicating, tempting, almost impossible to resist. 

But Katherine refused to be the monster that most thought she was, refused to feed without permission no matter how addictive a human’s blood may be. She swept her tongue over the wound, feeling the skin pull closed as she searched for the last hints of blood on her skin before pulling away with a soft gasp. Every instinct in her was screaming for more, to make easy prey of the pretty woman clinging to her.

She looked down at the human for a long moment, her eyes vivid red and fangs bared with desire and thirst as she looked up at her from under heavy lids, still dazed by Katherine’s power layered over her senses. Katherine licked the corners of her mouth as her fangs shrank back to a less intimidating size and she carefully released the human, afraid that she would lose control if she stayed too close while the woman’s blood rushed through her. The pet tightened her grip on Katherine’s arms for a brief moment before slowly letting go, sliding her fingers down her forearms and over Katherine’s upturned palms. The moment lingered between the two of them, the air between them filled with electricity that seemed to spark in the darkness. 

“Thank you Mistress,” she whispered, breathless and unsteady as Katherine took a small step away from her. 

Katherine nodded and sighed, reaching out to lift her chin for one last look before she sent the pet back to Vincenzo. The human closed her eyes at Katherine’s touch, her breath caught in her throat as she waited, hoping that Katherine would want her for anything else. It was impossible not to notice how her lips were ever so slightly swollen, puffy as if Katherine had just ravaged her mouth with the desire that was raging in her blood. The woman was terribly inviting, her lips parted just slightly as she struggled to catch her breath.

“Good as new,” Katherine said softly as she forced herself to withdraw her hand. “You won’t even have a scar. As if none of this happened.”

The woman nodded and gave Katherine a curious look before dipping her head respectfully and turning to disappear into the darkness of the garden paths leading back to the manor. She turned back for a moment, opened her mouth as if to say something, but froze. Katherine’s eyes slowly turn from a vivid, glowing red back to a pale green, catching the human’s attention and holding it in a captivated stare until the crimson has fully dissipated. She sighed and lowered herself into a generous curtsy, giving Katherine a silent thanks before turning to hurry back in the direction she came. 

Her scent lingered where they stood and Katherine took a deep breath, forcing herself to keep still as she let the last of her thirst subside. She let out a shaking breath and shook her head before turning to follow the human, but stopped when a bit of white caught her eye. She knelt down and scooped a handkerchief from the ground, instantly recognizing it as the one the pet had stolen from Vincenzo’s coat, now drenched in her blood. She closed her fist tightly around the piece of linen, bringing it to her face to take a deep breath of the woman’s blood before tucking it into her bodice and slowly making her way back.


	2. Gathering in the Storm

The night was especially dark, the light of the moon snuffed out by the blackened clouds that carried torrential rain with them. Thunder rolled over the sky, echoing in the halls of the great manor as Katherine let her ladies slowly go through the intricate process of dressing her. Each crack of lightning lit the room like a burst of sunshine, the ghosts of daylight come to tease her with something she had never experienced, that she would never know the joy of. It was a perfect night to hold court, the coven would gather under the safety of the overpowering storm, confident that the roads would be empty as the rains flooded everything in their path.

Katherine closed her eyes as a pair of skilled hands laced her corset closed, pulling her body into the smooth, beautiful shape that her finest gowns demanded. The weight of silk skirts and petticoats always felt oddly comforting, like a suit of armor that separated her from the world around her, a safety net of fine linens and hand embroidered flowers and blackwork. It didn’t matter that every vampire at court bowed to her, that her status afforded her a certain distance between herself and them. It didn’t matter that her strength and power eclipsed any vampire that stood beside her, that she could end the lives of any of the humans that trailed behind them with the tip of her finger. There was still a required decorum that came with her place at the head of the coven, a certain finery that was expected of her no matter how exhausted she was with it all. 

She looked at Flo as she finished lacing her sleeve, her favorite of all the humans that she kept close, and offered her a small smile. She was short, made of soft curves and a pretty smile, her long hair always pulled over her shoulder in loose plaits that she tied off with a piece of ribbon that Katherine had once given her. Flo had come to her nearly a year ago, abandoned by her family and left to wander the streets of Rome. When she stumbled upon the coven, Katherine had easily sensed her desperation, her hopelessness as she clung to what little life she had left in her. But something in her still burned like fire, some small thread of determination had remained unbroken even as her cheeks had sunken in and her body had wasted away with hunger. It was on a whim that she had offered Flo a place among her ladies, but she hadn’t once regretted the impulse. 

“Are you thirsty, my lady?”

Flo’s voice cut through her thoughts, her soft tone filled with affection and concern. Katherine cupped her cheek with a gentle hand, smiling at the sweet way that Flo turned her face into her palm and closed her eyes for a moment. Theirs had always been a gentle relationship, a softer give and take than most vampires seemed to share with their human companions. But it suited Katherine, and Flo seemed to be happy in the safety that her place in the coven offered her. 

“No, my dear.” Katherine slid the backs of her fingers down her companion’s cheek in a tender gesture, taking a moment to admire the faint blush that crept across her cheeks (a pretty sight that was uniquely human). 

“My lady,” her voice was hushed but her worry was unmistakable. “You have the entire coven coming to court tonight, it would truly be best if you feed. It’s been nearly a fortnight already…”

Katherine sighed heavily, already exhausted with the night ahead of her, but nodded in reluctant agreement. “You’re right, as usual. I suppose tonight isn’t the night to put it off. Not with so many guests in the manor.”

Flo nodded and turned her attention to helping finish the lacing on the outer bodice, careful not to let the brocade bunch as they cinched the ribbons tight at Katherine’s back. The rest of her ladies quietly made their way out of the room, leaving the two of them alone so that Flo could finish the last touches and allow Katherine to feed with some privacy. 

So many vampires had no care for who saw them indulge in their appetites, feeding on their preferred pets in full view of the court and anyone else who may be nearby. It was as if they had lost their sense of shame when they lost their humanity, as if the humans that kept them strong and healthy were nothing more than a snack with a pulse. Katherine found it tedious and, at times, monstrous. The way some of the vampires in her coven treated their pets was outright shameful, and Katherine couldn’t imagine how they had lost so much of themselves that they couldn’t even consider the needs of the pets that they all relied so heavily upon. 

She sighed and closed her eyes as Flo’s fingers worked through her hair, twisting it into loose braids that she would weave together to fall in long curling tendrils down her back. It was easy to relax into her touch, to not worry for a moment even as Flo gently pulled long pieces of hair free to hang around her face and neck. 

Flo moved to stand in front of Katherine, caressing her cheek softly as she watched the vampire take a deep breath, her eyes still closed as she focused her senses and took a brief moment to make sure that all was right within the manor walls. A small smile crossed her lips as her mistress turned to press a soft kiss to her wrist and the warm pleasure of soft tingles blossomed in her skin. 

Katherine could feel how grateful she was, the relief that washed over her in the long moments before she began to feed on the small woman that almost never left her side. Flo had no doubt seen the way that some of the vampires fed, how roughly they treated their pets, how little care they had for the pain and discomfort they caused. Katherine was sure that she had even seen a few of them be drained to nothing, their bodies left to be cleaned up by the staff after the sun rose and they had all retreated to their curtained chambers and dark coffins. 

She gently took hold of Flo's wrist, careful to keep her still so that her bite did no more damage than was necessary. It was impossible for Katherine not to feel the change in her eyes, the shift from their usual pale green to frighteningly vivid red, and she closed her eyes to shield Flo from the sight of her bloodlust. Seven centuries of life as a vampire hadn’t made it any less unsettling for Katherine to feel her body change when she fed, time hadn’t dulled the shock of experiencing her once human form twisting into that of the most dangerous and efficient predator it possibly could. Her fangs quickly grew larger, growing until they no longer hid behind her lips and were in prime position to bite into the soft skin that was the only barrier between her and the blood she so deeply yearned for. 

Her focus narrowed to send another wave of pleasure through Flo’s body, waiting until she heard the woman’s soft moan before she sank her fangs into her flesh and unleashed the flow of fresh, hot blood into her mouth. 

The bittersweet taste of vitality washed over her tongue and clung to the insides of her cheeks, creating a warm sensation that slowly moved through Katherine’s body like perfectly aged whiskey. She closed her eyes as she drank, falling into the familiar feeling of renewed strength, sharper senses, a keener mind. 

But the first moments of elation passed too soon and Katherine was quickly thrust into the shadows of memories and emotions that came from Flo’s mind as she fed. It was a common occurrence, something that Katherine had long ago accepted would come every time she fed, and the reason she chose to feed on a trusted few rather than a random many. But it never failed to sit heavy on her conscience as she caught glimpses of some of her pet’s most precious memories, her happiest moments. She knew that most vampires wouldn’t think twice about it, they would simply float in the feelings of joy and love that were passed from prey to predator, they would be enraptured by the shared moments of feeling human once again. But Katherine felt it was a violation, that it was stealing a part of her victims' souls when they had only consented to giving their blood. 

Even with Flo’s consent, with her full knowledge of what she would share with Katherine when she fed, with her happy smile as she assured her mistress that she was happy to share her entire mind with her. But even with Flo’s continued reassurances that she trusted Katherine implicitly, with her promise that she would always share any hesitation she may have, Katherine couldn’t help but feel the twinge of shame beneath all of the happiness that flowed through Flo’s blood and into their shared energy in those moments. 

She forced her own thoughts aside and refocused on Flo, carefully pushing another surge of intense pleasure through the woman’s body as she took one last, long pull of blood from her wrist. She withdrew her fangs from her wrist and ran her tongue over the bite marks, ensuring that they would close quickly beneath her mouth to prevent her sweet pet from losing any more blood than was necessary. Flo was calm and relaxed, her muscles soft and pliable as Katherine carefully turned her wrist over and back, inspecting her soft skin for any unnoticed damage that needed her attention. 

Katherine sighed and pressed a soft kiss to her pet’s wrist, a small token of affection and gratitude as she felt the woman’s blood refresh her body and sharpen her mind. She never fed enough to sate her hunger, to fill her, never took enough to quench the unending thirst that lurked deep in every fiber of her being. But Katherine was careful not to drink too much, not from Flo or any other human. She refused to risk going too far and accidentally draining one of them, withdrawing her fangs to find them dead in her arms. She was well aware that she didn’t need her full strength and she had learned to ignore the faint sensation of hunger over the years. She would never find it within herself to justify that risk. 

“Are you sure that’s enough, my lady?” 

She looked up at Flo, always touched by the compassion and affection that was ever present in her gaze. She sighed softly and pulled her into her lap, wrapping her arms around the human in a gentle embrace. With a happy sigh, Flo rested her head on Katherine’s shoulder, relaxing into the firm, ice cold body that she had come to love so much. 

“Yes, my dear, you’ve given me plenty. I’ll be perfectly fine for court tonight.” She ran her hand up and down Flo’s back, happy to spend a few extra moments just the two of them before the rest of the coven began to arrive. “And how do you feel, my pet? Are you alright?”

Flo sighed softly and nodded. “I’m fine,” she said quietly, worry creeping into the edges of her voice. “You never feed enough that I need more than a moment to sit down, at most a bit of rest. You really should feed more, Katherine. I worry about you.”

“You’ve nothing to worry about, I’m perfectly fine pet.”

“Katherine, I see how the others feed, I know that you don’t feed enough.” 

“Hush, Flo. I’m not like the others and I refuse to treat you, or anyone else, as they treat their pets. We’re all better than that, don’t let yourself forget that in all the worry that clouds your pretty head.”

With a quiet sigh, Flo nodded and sat up to look her mistress in the eye. “Yes, my lady, I’ll drop the feeding issue. But I do think it’s time you let me finish your hair, your guests will be here very soon.”

Katherine nodded and gave her a small smile before letting go to let her off her lap. “As you wish, my pet, finish making me beautiful, and then go rest and recover.”

Flo laughed softly as she ran her fingers through Katherine’s long, curling hair. “You’ve always been beautiful, my lady, that has nothing to do with me.” 

Her touch was gentle, calming, it carried a sense of peace that Katherine had long since fallen in love with. She closed her eyes with a small smile, leaning into the woman’s touch for a moment before sitting straighter to let her start to gather her hair into a style that suited the formality of the occasion. 

She twisted the curls into long, loosely plaited braids with ease, carefully pinning them up and away from Katherine’s face and leaving the rest of her hair to flow freely down her back. It was a familiar routine, one that both of them had grown to love over the years that Flo had remained under Katherine’s protection. 

It was peace and quiet, a short moment of safety before the manor was filled with a vampire coven that reeked of bloodthirst and violence. If she was being entirely honest with herself, Katherine wasn’t sure she could host her coven without feeding, without that moment of intimacy with Flo - at least not that night. Not after nearly a week of thinking back on the pet in the garden, the little human woman who had looked her in the eye so fearlessly, who hadn’t even hesitated to respond to her with sarcasm and wit, who didn’t feel anything like the other humans that the coven dragged with them to their gatherings. It had become impossible to focus, impossible to drown out her own thoughts as she continued to wonder about the woman. 

Were it not for the possibility of seeing her again, Katherine would have cancelled altogether, citing bad weather or some other thin excuse to keep her manor nearly empty and nearly silent. 

But if she was to see the woman again, then she needed Vincenzo to be obligated to be present with the rest of the court. As the only other pure vampire in the coven, he was sure to attend - even if only to show off his status within the coven and flex his superior power over the turned vampires that made up most of the population after two centuries of being hunted. 

The manor filled quickly. It seemed that once the first of the coven arrived, the rest came quickly after, a flurry of vampires and their pet humans filing into her grand hall to mingle in their finery. She could hear their voices drifting through the halls as Flo finished her hair and makeup, her senses picking up faint hints of individual emotions here and there as the coven gathered, all of them unaware of her true intention for the night. Their presence layered over the energy of the house, a low hum that served as a constant distraction to keep Katherine’s thoughts far away as Flo finished her hair and adjusted the lacings on her bodice, lovingly ensuring that she looked perfect before she sat in her place at the head of the coven. 

It was impossible for Katherine to concentrate on the formalities and pleasantries, the endless stream of hellos and platitudes quickly becoming tedious as she impatiently tried to make her way to her place at the front of the room. 

She spotted Vincenzo easily, lingering near the platform that her throne and her ladies’ seats had been set up on. Katherine narrowed her eyes, searching out the one woman that she actually cared to see as she walked faster through the crowd. 

Decorum had never been something Katherine was particularly fond of, she felt that it was simply a way to dance around the point of any conversation for the sake of some false sense of propriety, and this was no different. Moving directly to her throne was the last thing that she wanted to do, but Katherine fought the urge to go directly to Vincenzo and demand that he produce his pet for the sake of the evening, and for the sake of those that would suffer Vincenzo’s fury at what he would be sure to perceive as an insult. The only thing that made it bearable was the knowledge that he would present himself first, that he clung so dearly to his status as a pure vampire that he would never allow a turned one to pay their respects before he did. 

Her ladies took their places to either side of her as she situated herself comfortably in her throne, one of them taking a moment to arrange her skirts to prevent the fine, emerald dyed silk from wrinkling. Katherine wished for Flo in that moment, yearned for the comfort of her presence as she warred with herself about the human that plagued her thoughts. But she had been sent to rest after being fed on, and Katherine valued her health far too much to put her at risk for her own selfish desires. 

The court fell silent as the last of her ladies arranged themselves, a room full of eyes slowly turning to look at her as she adopted the practiced, perfect smile that they had all come to expect from her. 

She scanned the room, anxious to find the face that had become a permanent part of her thoughts. Each face that wasn’t the one she was looking for only soured Katherine’s mood further, and when Vincenzo stepped forward to pay his respects she was sure that her entire night had been wasted and she would have to endure it while struggling to hide her disappointment and anger. 

But as he bowed, an over dramatic sweeping motion paired with a grin that Katherine never failed to want to forcibly remove, she caught sight of her hovering at the edge of the room behind him. Katherine wasn’t sure if her heart still beat after seven centuries of living with death, but if it did then the sight of the woman surely would have stopped it in her chest. 

Uncertainty and anxiety flooded her senses as she focused her power on the woman, desperate to feel even a small flicker of what had burrowed into her soul and become impossible not to focus on the memory of. She looked up at Katherine, holding eye contact for only a moment before she looked back at the ground and shrank further into herself as she tugged at the too low neckline of her gown. But the short moment was all Katherine needed to be sure that she had done the right thing, that she needed to speak to the woman again. She was suddenly sure that no matter what came of it, just being able to reassure herself that the woman was okay would make the entire night worth it. 

“Your Grace?” 

Vincenzo’s expectant tone cut through her thoughts and Katherine forced herself to look back at him, instantly annoyed at how he stared at her with a raised brow. 

“I apologize, Vincenzo, my attention wandered for a moment. Please, continue.” 

He nodded, clearly irritated that he didn’t command her full attention, his entitlement seeping into her senses like the smell of burning glass. “As I was saying, Your Grace, I know I speak for many of us here when I saw I was honored to be invited back to your home so soon. However there is some worry that perhaps this evening is in honor of bad news?” 

Katherine smiled at him and shook her head, fighting the urge to snap at him to shut up and stop stirring worry in the coven. “No, my dear friend, I simply wanted to take a quiet evening to check in with everyone. I realize that we gather for festivities often, but it’s been far too long since we’ve had an evening to simply check in with everyone’s well being and safety. These are hard times that we’re living through, I would hate to have serious issues slip through the cracks, wouldn’t you?”

He stiffened at the subtle implication, all too aware of her hint that his interests were focused solely on himself. “You’re absolutely right Your Grace,” he said, his smile thinning as a low murmur went through the room. “As always, you’re thinking a step ahead of us all.”

She smiled graciously, but her attention was already back on the woman hovering off to the side. “Tell me, Vincenzo. You had a pet with you the other night. Did you bring her tonight?”

A frown flicked across his face as he nodded. “Yes, Your Grace, I did.”

“And where is she?”

“May I inquire as to why you wish to see her?”

The room went silent at the question and Katherine’s gaze turned icy. “As I recall, you left her to bleed freely in the middle of a ball, did you not?” 

“I did, but -”

“And I found her in the garden, trying to take care of the wound herself. She was gracious enough to allow me to assist her, and I would like to inspect the wound and be sure that she’s alright.” She leveled him with a pointed stare, daring him to protest. “Is that going to be an issue, Vincenzo?” 

“No, not at all Your Grace.” He snapped his fingers and the woman quickly moved to his side, her eyes never raised from the floor. “This is Isabella, Your Grace. She’s been with me a few months now.”

“And why are we just now meeting your lovely pet?”

His voice dropped slightly and the woman seemed to make herself look impossibly small. “I’ve only just recently found her obedient enough to accompany me to functions with the coven. She has a bit of a temper, and far too much will. It’s taken some time to train her as I see fit -”

Katherine raised a hand to stop him, only growing more and more angry with him as he continued to talk. She smiled softly at the woman and beckoned her to come forward. “Come here please, let me look at you.” 

Isabella looked at Vincenzo for a moment and took a step forward, head bowed demurely as so many of the pets had been trained to do. She didn’t make it more than two steps before Vincenzo’s hand shot out, grabbing her hard by the elbow and pulling her back to him. It was impossible to miss how the woman blushed, her skin glowing furiously red against the cream silk of her gown. 

Katherine could feel the spike of fear that filled the air, a chill that washed over her and settled somewhere under her skin, like an itch that was impossible to scratch. The way he looked at her infuriated Katherine, his gaze was sharp and possessive, his pointed stare a command that didn’t need to be said. Isabella wilted under his stare, her willful spark that Katherine had yearned for almost instantly broken. 

“Vincenzo.” Her voice held a warning, clear and easy to pinpoint. 

He gave the woman’s arm a final squeeze, hard enough to make her whine almost silently. Katherine bristled and sat up straighter, prepared to intervene if he didn’t allow Isabella to come forward. 

But he let her go and bowed in Katherine’s direction, silently apologizing for the moment of impertinence. 

She glanced at Vincenzo but did as she was asked, stepping forward with her arms crossed over her body. She knelt at Katherine’s feet and looked up at her with wide eyes, as if imploring her to do something to prevent another moment of pain and cruelty at the hands of the vile vampire that had claimed her. 

Katherine very gently gripped her chin and turned her face from side to side, pleased at the lack of scarring from the vicious bite that Vincenzo had inflicted upon her. She studied Isabella for a long moment, memorizing the soft lines of her face. Katherine could feel the woman calm under her touch, fear and pain slipping away, leaving only the fluttering wisps of hope as she stared back at Katherine. 

“Lovely,” she said softly, smiling at her. “It’s healed perfectly, and you’re as beautiful as I remember.”

“Thank you, Your Grace.” 

Katherine laughed at the soft blush and leaned forward to speak more quietly. “Can we speak freely, Isabella?” 

She glanced back at her master but nodded, all too aware that she was in no position to refuse the request. 

“Are you happy with Vincenzo?”

Katherine could feel her panic, she could sense the blood rushing through isabella as her human heart fluttered wildly at the question. She nodded quietly, but her emotions, her expression told Katherine otherwise. Isabella shifted on her knees, uncomfortable with the intensity of Katherine’s stare, but she was unable to look away from her. 

“Please, just tell me truthfully. You’ll face no consequences, no matter what you share with me.” 

Isabella looked at Katherine for a moment, searching her eyes for any trick or ulterior motive. “You want me to tell you my _true_ feelings, Your Grace?” 

“Please,” Katherine responded, eager to see more of the spark of bravery in the woman’s eyes. 

She sighed and shook her head. “No, I’m not happy, Your Grace. I’m not happy with Vincenzo, I’m not happy to be dragged out in the rain in a gown I hate, and I’m not happy to be kneeling on the ground as though I’m beneath everyone else in this room.” 

Katherine grinned, entirely too pleased with the woman’s answer, and nodded. “Would you leave his household if you were safely given the chance to do so?”

There wasn’t even a moment of hesitation before Isabella nodded, but she quickly looked back down at the floor as Katherine sat back up in her chair and cleared her throat. 

“Isabella will remain here with me, as a part of my household. Thank you for having cared for her until now but -”

“Your Grace, I must object!”

She smiled, unsurprised and unperturbed by his outburst. “I’m sorry you feel that way, Vincenzo. But I firmly believe that her place is as one of my ladies, and I will not be swayed. Isabella is now under my protection, as a part of my private household. Are we all understood?” 

A murmur of assent went through the room, followed - after a long, angry pause - by Vincenzo’s disgruntled and reluctant agreement. 

Katherine smiled at the woman, at Isabella, and waved her up from her knees. “Please, join the rest of my ladies, there are plenty of far more comfortable places that you could be sitting my dear.” 

Isabella gave her a small curtsy, looking at the floor to try to hide the relief that was all over her face. She looked unsure for a moment, suddenly overwhelmed with how her life had changed in a matter of seconds, but Katherine gave her a playful smile and subtly pointed to an open space directly beside her. 

She reached for an oversized pillow and dragged it closer, moving to sit more comfortably beside Katherine as the rest of the coven began to pay their respects one by one. 

Katherine leaned to the side and whispered softly to her, careful to only glance at Isabella for a moment so that it looked as though she was paying attention to the vampire before her. “Would you like to tell me what you’re thinking, my dear?” 

Isabella looked up at her, surprised at the fondness that was already so clear in her voice. “I just don’t understand why, Your Grace.” 

Katherine smiled at her and shook her head. “No need to be so formal, my lady will do just fine here, Lady Katherine in private.”

“My lady,” she said softly, testing the affectionate title quietly. 

With a soft sigh, Katherine caressed her cheek and lifted her chin. She looked into her eyes and focused her senses on sending a subtle wave of calming pleasure through Isabella, easing the worry that still felt like iced over waters in winter. 

“Why, my lady?” Her tone was less anxious, the frantic edge gone from her voice, but Isabella knew she owed her an explanation for the abrupt change. 

“Because of how you feel, my dear. And because I couldn’t stop thinking of you since we met in the garden.” 

Isabella frowned and looked down at her lap, trying to figure out how to respond. 

“After all,” Katherine said in a hushed tone, looking at her with a conspiratory smile, “how could I not steal away the human that makes me call the entire coven to my manor just to get a second glimpse of her?” 


	3. Flashback - A Lesson in Pleasure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A flashback of Isabella’s time with Vincenzo...

Isabella nervously sat on the bed, uncomfortable and worried as she waited for any sign of Vincenzo. She was never allowed on his bed, let alone in his chambers, but he had coaxed her from her tiny room with his sly smile and with soft touches and had assured her that tonight would be different. 

Long shadows danced across his chamber, painting the room in varying shades of night that left her struggling to get a full view of her surroundings. She could sense him somewhere in the room, could feel his eyes on her as he lurked far too close for comfort.

She heard his low chuckle before he emerged from the shadows, the familiar rumble of his deep, throaty laugh turning her stomach in a knot and making her sit up and narrow her eyes at the dark, trying to distinguish his outline from the twisting depths of darkness. But he stayed hidden, tucked away in the shadows of dark corners until he was ready to reveal himself. He enjoyed her anxiety, fed on her worry and her tension, he delighted in letting it build up until it tainted the flavor of her blood and left nearly breathless and distraught. 

Vincenzo sauntered from his place in the shadows, staring at her with hungry, red eyes that made her heart race and left her instincts screaming at her to run, to get away, to find safety literally anywhere that was away from him. 

But Isabella forced herself to keep still, unwilling to give him the pleasure of a chase, the satisfaction of fear and adrenaline pulsing wildly in her veins. She pinned a neutral smile to her face and watched him with sharp, wary eyes, like a trapped animal helplessly watching as a predator circled it’s prey, licking it’s chops at the prospect of an easy meal. 

She lifted her chin, gracefully exposing her throat to him while still maintaining the air of quiet defiance that she clung to, the last shred of her stubborn refusal to become a mindless snack like his other pets. 

“Always my obedient pet, aren’t you Isabella?”

His smile was twisted and malicious, wrong in a way that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. 

“Are you thirsty my lord? Do you require a feeding of me?”

He grinned as he closed in on her, but he didn’t answer. Instead, he leaned over her, forcing her back on her elbows as he grazed his lips over her throat and down to her collarbones. The soft touch almost stole her breath away entirely, such a sharp contrast from the pain and misery that so often came with even the smallest bit of attention from the cruel vampire. She let him guide her back to lay on the bed, her body splayed beneath him as he ran his hand down the center of her chest and followed the line of her corset to her petticoats, goosebumps chasing his fingers over her skin in a wake of butterflies and fire that made her head spin. 

She twisted her hands in the sheets, struggling to catch her breath as his hands slipped up her petticoats and trailed up her legs, his touch too light to be anything viciously pleasurable. Isabella hated how much she liked it, how much she yearned for more and more of the gentle ease that he so rarely showed her, she hated herself for how she arched her body into his hands in a silent plea for him to keep going, to not stop, to just keep using his hands that felt good for as long as possible before they were once again hands that hurt and stole and ripped pieces of her away. 

His fingertips ghosted over her thighs, pushing the heavy fabric of her petticoats up to her hips with a self satisfied smirk. Somewhere in Isabella’s mind she knew that she should feel ashamed, that she should want to hide herself from him, that she should be wary of the smile that had an edge to it that would usually terrify her. But she was lost in the haze of soft touch, of gentle affection, of ‘just-make-it-feel-good-this-time-please’ chanting in her thoughts. He would feed, she knew he would - he always did - but some part of her had a quiet hope that this time he would do it without making her suffer so much more than just the pain of the bite for his enjoyment. 

The soft silk of her stockings slid down her legs as he hooked his fingers in the fabric and gently dragged it down to her ankles, his lips following the tantalizing fabric with a trail of brushing kisses that left Isabella panting beneath him as a fog of pleasure loomed over her. She arched her back as he parted her thighs with a soft, silent command, bending her legs at the knee to lift her legs into the position he wanted to ensure he had access to her most sensitive areas. 

Isabella arched her body higher and whimpered softly, lifting herself into his hands in a desperate plea for more of the gentle, almost loving way he touched her. He slid his fingers up her legs to settle on her hips, holding her firmly as he pressed her into the mattress to keep her still. She let her head fall back and her eyes close, squirming in his grasp as his lips grazed over her inner thighs with a whisper of her name that made her jump and whine beneath him. 

He had her exactly where he wanted her, and Isabella would soon pay dearly for allowing herself to fall into the trap of his tenderness. 

Vincenzo tightened his grip on her, moving to open her thighs wide enough that he could settle between them, his breath skittering over her skin as she panted with a burning need that she didn’t recognize. He pressed a final kiss to the slope of her inner thigh, his lips lingering on the sensitive nerves that had her writhing and twisting beneath him. Her body was arched in a hard curve as she fought to catch her breath, her head thrown back as the sensations overwhelmed her. 

He opened his mouth wide and sank his teeth into her inner thigh with a hiss that jolted Isabella from the haze just before the pain ripped through her mind and dragged her away. From every good feeling he had bestowed upon her. 

Soft panting of desire and need turned into a blood curdling scream that echoed through the halls of the small castle. Isabella’s agony and terror stopped the pets who could hear it in their tracks, they all recognized the suffering that she was enduring, all felt the same fear that sat heavy in their chests, but they were powerless to stop the vampire from inflicting whatever cruelty he desired on her. 

She clawed at him as his venom slithered through her veins, burning in her like acid that spread far too slowly as he drank in long, ravenous pulls from the wound in her leg. She could feel her pulse quickening as fear took over her thoughts, spreading the searing pain deeper and deeper into her body with every hard beat of her heart. 

Darkness hovered at the edges of her mind, like a fuzzy blur of nothing that encroached at the outlying thoughts as he fed, pushing everything but pain from her mind so that she was left with nothing but the way he shifted his fangs and bit down again to refresh the pain and pull a fresh scream from her. Isabella’s body arched harder, no longer trying to elicit more touch from him but instead trying to force him away by any means necessary. 

She reached for his head, trying to push just enough to release his fangs from her flesh now that the wound was open and bleeding freely. But he sensed her narrow moment of focus and caught her by the wrist, twisting and crushing the bones until she heard a snap and a crunch and her hand went limp. Her cry was breathless and resigned, hopeless as he squeezed tighter, his lips curling in a vicious smile as the fresh wave of pain made the next pull of blood from Isabella’s thigh taste that much better. 

The darkness started to cover her mind and she felt unconsciousness floating over her like a cloud blocking out every sensible, rational thought that she could hold on to. Her pulse grew weaker, she could feel it throbbing less and less in her wounds, the sound of her heartbeat no longer raging in her ears when he finally withdrew his fangs and sat up. 

Vincenzo was little more than a shadow looming over her as she drifted into unconsciousness, but his words echoed in the last shred of thought she had before slipping into nothing. 

“Hopefully you’ve learnt your lesson my pretty pet, next time I’ll bleed you dry and drink every last drop.”


End file.
